Tag: World of Warcraft

Categories
For the Geeks

Are You Ready To Tank Deathwing, Version LFR?

Quite recently, Blizzard the creator of World of Warcraft has done something rather innovative to a 7 years old online game.  They put together a mechanism to automatically matchmaking 25 random players from around the world to form a raid to slay dragons and more.  This is a five times expansion of the existing 5-man party assembler.  Traditionally, large scale raiding requires solid dedication of time, effort, sacrifices, and good networking skill.  And it is handsomely rewarded within the game with a deep scene of achievement.  Late last year, first time in Blizzard’s history, this aspect of the game has been opened up to the casual players.  That includes Cynthia and I and some of our friends who now have the opportunity to see a part of the game that was used to be exclusive to only 2% of the player base.  Now, any Tonk, Hick, and Sally can raid Deathwing – the final villain of this Cataclysm expansion – in a specially tune down version that is less demanding.  OK.  Deathwing may not be that elite in this LFR (looking for raid) setting.  But it is the same not so sexy back we parachute onto (see picture above), elite or not!  I often think that asking 25 strangers who may not have worked together before and to play a 90 minutes game is quite a feat – for Blizzard and for us.

Previously, I talked about the three roles that one can choose within the game.  Similar to a football match, the melee players are like the strikers, always up close and personal with the goal.  Mid fielders are like the casters throwing spells from the back.  Both are constantly attacking.  Healers in the game are like the defenders in a football field.  Finally, goalkeeper is like a tank role in World of Warcraft.  You don’t need many.  One tank is required for a 5-man party.  Two tanks are required for a 25-man party.  Of these few roles, I enjoy tanking the most, partly due to its huge responsibility and the demand of a low margin of error.  After all, you may have a few strikers by your side to pick up the slack when you miss the kick.  When a goalkeeper misses the ball, the opposite scores.

After weeks of trying out the different roles in Dragon Soul (LFR), I have put together a tanking guide to help fellow tanks who are new to raiding.  Unless there is a popular demand, I probably would not put up a guide for the other two roles.  Because they are rather straightforward compares to tanking.

  • Click here to read more.
Categories
For the Geeks

Deathwing Must Die (And He Did, A Few Good Times)

A choir.  I shall use a choir to illustrate what raiding in an online gaming environment is like.

In any given choir, think Christmas Caroling if you may, there is usually one organist or a few guitarists who set the key and pace of the performance.  The music draws attention but it alone does not entertain.  We need the singers to sing the melody.  And we need a few dedicated singers to sing the harmony.  The audience seldom hums along with the music or sings along with the harmony.  The audience sings along with the melody.  Melody is at the forefront of the entertainment deliverance.  Having said so, all three elements must co-exist in order to give forth one spectacular performance.

” They say things look different when you are dead.  After my demise, I looked back upon my twenty odd fellow raiders, who fought alongside with the dragons on the island, who one by one got killed by the bits and pieces of Deathwing (the red blob on the right).  It was a lost battle.  Time for another attempt.”

Raiding in a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) works similarly to how a choir operates.  25 players are organized into a team to fulfill a set of objectives in accordance with the lore.  One year ago, Blizzard has released a new expansion for World of Warcraft.  A year after Cataclysm, the story has finally come to a conclusion when we have the opportunity to face the ultimate villain of this expansion – Deathwing.  We have visited the future and changed it.  We have visited the past and changed it.  Armed with the artifact that may be the key in defeating the dragon Deathwing, we have escorted Thrall – our hero – to Wyrmrest Temple ready to have one final showdown with the villain and his waves of armed forces.  It is dramatic.  It is a lengthy expedition.  And it is an epic battle that leads to an orgasmic ending.  An ending that most of us has to experience again and again till the Pandas come home.

“Kalecgos has become a new Aspect for the Blue Dragonflight.  He made a rare visit to one of our capitals, in Matrix style.”

Players in a 25-man raid setting are required to fulfill one of the three roles – tank, damage, or heal.  Tank, to me, is like an organist in a choir.  They are there to set the pace of the encounters and to hold the enemies at bay.  The music continues so long as the organist keeps on playing.  Similarly, in a raid, when the tanks die, it often means that the encounter would come to a premature end.  That is, failure.  We don’t need many to play a tank role.  Two is sufficient in a 25-man raid.  It is a role with a huge responsibility.  It is also a role that I personally enjoy.

Then we have the heal role to replenish the team and neutralize the incoming damage.  In a military context, heal is like the armed forces multiplier, the ones who refuel the planes or replenish the bombs.  Heal is a support unit, much like the harmony singers in a choir.  We need a sizable heal.  And we need six in a 25-man raid.

Obvious as it sounds, those who take the damage role are responsible to lay damage to the enemy front.  They are like the melody singers who feeds on the music and the harmony.  In a raiding environment, they delivery the offensive blow to our enemies.  We need tons of players to play this role.  Seventeen to be exact.

“25 of us looks tiny compare to Deathwing.  Are you ready?”

In the past, raids in World of Warcraft (or other MMO games I suppose) are organized manually.  You need to put in heaps of commitment, get yourselves into a local community, stick to a timetable set by the majority, and you must have this mentality that each failure is one step closer to success.  One Korean guild attempted one particular encounter 300 times that eventually earned them the World First achievement in defeating Deathwing, heroically.  Proper raiding is no easy feat.

In reality, as recently revealed, only 2% of subscribers got to see the raiding contents.  Blizzard – the creator of World of Warcraft – has done something innovative in a recent patch.  They have created a LFR (Looking for Raid) tool to automatically assemble a raid group of 25 players across the servers.  To compensate the fact that these 25 players do not know each other and have not worked with one another, the encounters (and rewards) are specially tuned down to be more causal friendly.  All of a sudden, many get to experience end game contents, including Cynthia and I.

“[I suppose] Once Deathwing is heroically defeated in a realm (or server), a piece of him is displayed within the capital city to serve as a reminder that while many may falter, the ultimate villain has to be defeated at all cost.”

The LFR tool, wonderful as it seems, is not without its share of criticism.  Elitists bundle up and attack the tool on the ground that some  game contents have to be reserved for the cream of the crop.  Some need to feel special and to serve as an inspiration for many to follow.  While this has some philosophical merits, in an environment whereby every player pays the same subscription fees, there is little incentive to nurture elitism, especially with a 7-year old game that may have passed its peak.  Another criticism is that not all these 25 random players contribute at a similar level.  Do they deserve the reward?  Do they even deserve to be there to experience the story in the first place?  This leads back to my analogy.

Cynthia, my mother, and I have attended the Midnight Mass on Christmas.  Before the Mass, the choir was singing the Christmas Carols.  I observed that not every singer sang with full bodied vocal and devotion.  Some went off key.  It was as though some were there more for participation’s sake.  If it was a caroling competition, this choir would have been out.  But it was not a competition.  Participation is rewarded instead of performance.  I shared my observation with Cynthia and she could immediately relate.  It is OK to have some under-perform in LFR.  So long as we don’t have too many party fillers that makes it impossible to raid.

PS. Join us at Draenor server today!  You can play for free, for the first 20 levels at least.  Our guild has a presence in Alliance, as well as in Horde.

Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

Thrall: Twilight Of The Aspects By Christie Golden – Powerful, And Moving

After I have finished reading Thrall in Hong Kong, I said to Cynthia, “Drop everything you are reading now and start to read this!”  It is that good.  Rewind to the day when we were at the airport.  On several occasions, I struggled if I shall read another book written by Christie Golden.  Price is a factor (S$44 in Singapore while you can get a Kindle copy from Amazon for merely US$15).  I have been camping at our library website for quite some time but the book is nowhere to be seen in the catalog.  Christie Golden does not strike me as a great writer, in the genre of fantasy.  Hence that added to my hesitation.  But hack, it is a holiday trip.  On the day of my holiday, Blizzard has announced a new expansion for the World of Warcraft online game: Mists of Pandaria.  On top of that, Cynthia and I have committed for a one year subscription and will get the upcoming Diablo III free.  There were many reasons to celebrate.  So I bought Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects.

The story is epic, even for those who may have no knowledge of the Warcraft Universe.  The book has told the story well, assuming that the readers may not have any background.  In the beginning, Titans (or creators) have entrusted their power to five dragon Aspects (leaders of dragonflights) and these Aspects – together with their respective dragonflights – are tasked to protect our world.  The green dragon Aspect is bound to the waking Dream of Creation.  She touches all living beings, and sing to them the songs of creation and interconnections.  The blue dragon Aspect regulates, manages, and controls all magic that must be appreciated and valued, and not hoarded.  The yellow dragon Aspect keeps the purity of time.  The red dragon Aspect is gifted with compassion for all living things, to protect and to nurture.  Heal those others cannot, birth what others may not, and love even the unlovable.  And the black dragon Aspect is offered the earth, the basis of all things, to manage time, life, dreams, and magic.  Prior to Cataclysm, Neltharion the Earth-Warder (black) was corrupted by the old gods and has become Deathwing who now destroys life instead of protecting life.  Malygos the Spell-Weaver (blue) was destroyed by the dragonflights led by Alexstrasza the Life-Binder (red) due to his genocidal crusade against all magic users in Azeroth.  Since then, the blue dragonflight is left without an Aspect.  Ysera the Awakened (green) has recently come out from the Emerald Dream after thousands of years of dreaming and she is still somewhat dreamy, somewhat confused.  Nozdormu the Timeless (yellow) has gone missing and no one knows where he is in time and space.

In short, Thrall is a story set against the dragonflights and the unique situation the dragons are now at.  For those of you who are mesmerized by the stories of the dragons since the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, this book is going to fill in so many lore gaps that are not featured in a gaming environment.

The world event Cataclysm was launched on December 7, 2010.  In less than a year, Blizzard has transformed one of the key lore character Thrall from a leader of one faction into a protector of Azeroth and more.  Some may or may not agree on such a special treatment of a Horde character (the Alliance certainly is not happy).  But given the unique background of Thrall – an orc who was raised by humans and learned to befriend with and trust other races – is a pivot to the general theme of Cataclysm: The healing of a wounded world.  Christie Golden has done a great job in intelligently describing Thrall’s life history without making this book reads like a history scroll.  Her strength is her story dialog and it remains powerful and moving.  In more than a few counts, I was moved to tears.  To be frank, I rarely cry reading books or watching movies.  But I do have a few soft spots here and there.

Unlike some of her other books, I feel that the plot of Thrall is tighter.  There is an overall build up to climax and a conclusion to a subplot less likely to be seen in the game.  Now that Dragon Soul patch 4.3 is at hand whereby adventurers will be able to experience first hand in aiding Thrall and the Aspects to battle against Deathwing, Thrall is a must read.

Categories
For the Geeks

Enduring The Heat – A Journal Of Regrowth And Molten Front

I still remember where I was on the 261st day after Cataclysm.  I was outside the Royal Bank of Stormwind when I spotted a new poster on the Hero’s Call noticeboard.  It said:

The Guardians of Hyjal, led by Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, seek brave heroes to assist with a full-scale assault on the Firelands.

Willing and able-bodied heroes of the Alliance should report to the Sanctuary of Malorne in Mount Hyjal immediately.

I may not be brave, but I am willing.  With my shield on my back and my sword readied to bring justice to those who fouled our land, I made my way to Mount Hyjal.  It was not hard to find the Sanctuary of Malorne.  The sanctuary appeared as a big question mark on my map.

Upon reaching my destination, I was told that I was a tad too late.  Hamuul, Malfurion, and others have already made it to the invasion point.  Alas!  I hated to miss the action.  Quickly, I summoned my dragon and flew up the hill.  The entire flight took about 10 seconds.  What followed was a blur.  Perhaps I was too much in a hurry to get to the next stage.  I have seen the same vision five times but I still do not get the detail.  All I gathered was that our most powerful druid Hamuul was brutally burned down by the evil flame druid Leyara, almost instantaneously.  99.99% dead.  So dead that I could smell beef.  Why did Leyara spare my life while I witnessed this atrocity?  Till today, I still do not know.

Meanwhile, after our failed attempt in assaulting Fireland, our fearless leader Malfurion has tasked me to gather resources in order to mount a second attempt.  No problem.  I was happy to contribute in whichever way I can.  First I approached a dryad.  Her name was Mylune.

“Ah, the great outdoor,” she said.

“Erm, if you say so,” I did not know how to respond.

“Is there trouble?” she asked.

I looked around and life seemed peaceful.  So I asked, “Is there something for me to do?”

On day one, she asked me to wear a wolf suit and howl on top of dead enemies.  On day two, she asked me to find and call upon small birds, forest owls, and golden hawks.  On day three, she asked me to punt turtles back to the lake.  On day four, she asked me to capture deer spirits.  On day five, she asked me to rescue baby bears stuck on a tree.  How did the bears manage to climb up the tree and unable to get down?  I did not know.

After what seemed like an eternity, I have gathered enough resources for Malfurion to mount an attack into Firelands.  When I first landed on Molten Front through the portal, it was a mess.  There was fire everywhere.  Enemies in the forms of elementals, giants, worms, and hounds – all engulfed in flame, attacking us at sight.  Tens and hundreds of our allies lied wounded on the ground.  I did my best to bandage them up, hack a few of the enemies while I was at it, and tried to close their portals with my wisp.

Our enemies were relentless.  One day, Malfurion called me into his cave where he planted a tree and said, “We will need the Shadow Wardens’ help.”  No problem, I said.  We needed to make progress.  So I worked my butt off in order to gather enough resources to recruit the Shadow Wardens.

In retrospect, helping the Wardens was without a doubt a relatively painless thing to do.  On a good day, I was tasked to free some victims caught inside the spider webs, hack some spiders, and detonate a weakly fortified energy core that tossed me up thirty yards above ground when it exploded.  On a bad day, I was tasked to collect some spider eggs (yuck!), hack more spiders, and kidnap a flame druid.  Days after days, I answered the call of Malfurion.  I worked hard, seldom complained.  I did my job with ever glowing enthusiasm even when I have to take a strange looking plant for a skinny dip inside a lava pool, six bloody times.  Some do like it hot.

I lost count of the days I spent in Molten Front.  One thing for sure, time did not seem to past when you were inside a war zone.  We have made some good progress with the help of the Wardens.  Malfurion seemed pleased.  One evening, inside the cave where he perpetually stayed, he spoke to me, “Skylord Omnuron and his Druids of the Talon have been a fearsome force for us back in Hyjal.  I know that they prefer the familiar skies of that battlefield, but the time may come when we need them here nonetheless.”

“Who is Skylord Omnuron?” I asked, “Was he the one who subjected the rest of us to that stomach churning exercise of jousting in the air?”

Malfurion seemed to ignore my questions and he continued, “Go now and appeal to Omnuron that his druids should be on the main front.  Omnuron watches out for his own, but he also understands the importance of this effort.”

Who was I to deny Malfurion’s command?  For many years prior to Cataclysm, Malfurion was missing in action.  No one knew where he was.  Not even his girlfriend, Tyrande Whisperwind.  I am not good in history and am not sure if it was Tyrande or Fandral Staghelm, the Archdruid of Darnassus, who led the night elves during the period when Malfurion was gone.  Fandral was a war hero.  He has a son called Valstann who wedded Leyara.  In one battle that went horribly wrong, the young and eager Valstann was captured by the enemies and was brutally executed in front of his family and troops.  I could only imagine what a huge blow it must be to his father Fandral and his wife Leyara.  That piece of history could well be an important link to why Fandral and Leyara have gone rogue and become flame druids.  My hope for them to turn over a new leaf dwindled as I saw the war lengthened.  Too many have died in this war.  Hatred ran deep.

Unlike the Wardens, Druids gave out some of the most tedious tasks in Molten Front.  I dreaded doing them.  In my previous life, I was a Mario Brother.  I am still unable to master some of the moves the Druids required me to do.  On the very next day, I ran back to the Wardens with open arms.  I enjoyed closing the runes inside an exploding cave full of hostile fire elementals.  It was a bit like doing homeruns in a baseball game.  The moment I entered the cave, I touched the first base.  I would then run straight to the T-junction, touch the second base.  There was an upslope curving leftward, the third base.  I would then jump over the ledge, passed the first base and at the junction, the forth base.  The fifth base was on the left and continued forward, the sixth base.  A sharp right turn jumping over the air vent would land me onto the seventh base that was located in the middle of a small island surrounded by lava.  Another jump over the second air vent would get me out of the island and land me onto the eighth base.  One minute and mission accomplished.

As the war dragged on, there was news that powerful enemy lieutenants were spotted in the north of Molten Front.  Such supersized opponents called for supersized allies.  I thought of the tree giants in Mount Hyjal and have decided to recruit them into our forces.  The ancients awaited.  I played my role as the messenger and as a living testimony to our war effort.  They agreed to help.  And they made a good decoration to our base inside Molten Base.  Trees, we needed more trees.

Did I mention that there was a dwarf sharing the cave with Malfurion?  He has some of the most exceptional equipments in store.  But he refused to let me try them on unless I helped him to recruit Ricket the goblin.

“These druids be lackin’ the tools ta properly handle the job out ‘ere. I got meself a buddy back at day ol’ stag shrine through the portal though.  If we were ta be gettin’ reunited, we’d sure have some real toys ta use against ol’ Ragboy and ‘is cronies.  Go find Matoclaw.  Ask her fer Ricket.  We need’r here so we can be causin’ some real trouble,” said the dwarf.

Huh?  I can never fully understand what dwarves say.

Depending on her mood, Ricket would ask me to do different things on any given day.  Bombing a huge worm, triggering a meteor shower, and my favorite task was to gun down the flying flame druids from the ground.  I would climb a tower high enough to aim at the enemies in the sky.  I pictured myself as King Kong.  Came what may you helpless flying creatures!

*     *     *     Spoiler Warning     *     *     *

My last assignment as a runner was to fill up our moonwell with sacred water from the Well of Eternity.  The water could be used to bless the trees and bushes.  How did it come through the portal?  I have no idea.

My first assignment as a hero was to confront Leyara.  News has it that the Wardens have successfully cornered Leyara inside a cave.  “Go there immediately,” said Malfurion, “I will join you as soon as I make one necessary preparation.”

What preparation?!

I made haste, rode as fast as I could to reach the cave.  Leyara was in the middle, surrounded by a group of Wardens.  She turned to me and said, “I thought you might come.  You’ve proven very persistent.  Annoyingly so.”

Enough of playing a nobody’s role in bandaging the wounded and rescuing the baby bears.  Today, I was going to make history.  I ran towards Leyara fearlessly and fought her with my allies.  One by one, Leyara engulfed my allies in flame, suspended them in the air, and vaporized them into oblivion.  That was not looking good.  Soon, I was alone with Leyara.  It took forever for me to hurt her as she was to me.  It was a stalemate.  To end this, one of us was going to be vaporized.  The thought of I not having such ability sent a chill down my spine.

As the fight dragged on, I yelled out loud, “Malfurion, wherever you are, this is a time you should make an appearance!”

Cued to perfection, Malfurion entered the cave and fought alongside with me.  Leyara laughed, “I’ll kill your companion just like I killed Hamuul.  And there is nothing you can do about it.”

Uh oh.  Was she referring to me?  Yes, she was.  The next thing I knew, I was helplessly engulfed in flame and was suspended in the air.  I fixed my eyes on my executioner while I waited for the inevitable.  Then something happened.  A fully recovered Hamuul appeared and Malfurion said to Leyara, “You did not kill Hamuul, Leyara.  He lives.”  Hamuul added, “I’m sorry that I did not arrive sooner, though you seem to have held your own quite well.”  I cheered.  We managed to bring Hamuul back to life, with my daily help.

“Hurray!  Now, get me down quick”, screamed I.

Leyara must have ignored me momentarily as Hamuul shape-shifted into a huge bear and charged onto her.  What a magnificent bear!  I had to be careful in positioning myself as Hamuul mauled, lacerated, and pulverized Leyara.  It was not a pretty scene.  Towards Leyara’s final moment, Hamuul said to her, “I release you from this fate Leyara.  May you finally find your peace in death.”

With that said, Leyara was slain.  A cloud of melancholy descended upon me.  Who was Leyara?  What had she become?  The war is not over.  But at least, one chapter is closed.

On the 295th day after Cataclysm, I was outside the Royal Bank of Stormwind.  A locket has arrived at my mailbox.  It was sent by one of the Wardens who found it inside the cave.  A locket belonged to Leyara.  I held it close to my heart and I felt a faint level of magic quivering within.  Could this locket answer all my lingering questions?

I traveled to Moonglade and prompted one of my contacts for help.  True enough.  Locked inside this locket were the memories of Leyara.  In the first vision, Leyara witnessed her husband Valstann Staghelm ripped in two by the Qiraji General Rajaxx.  In the second vision, by the grave of Valstann at Astranaar, I saw Leyara with a little girl and Fandral by her sides.  She said, “Our child has been born.  It’s a girl!  A beautiful baby girl.  I named her Istaria.  She has your eyes.”  In the last vision at Mount Hyjal, by a small grave next to where Leyara struck down Hamuul, she moaned the death of her daughter.  And she cried, “Fandral would never have allowed the Horde to attack our home!  And who did Malfurion send to defend us?  No one!”

I can understand the resentment Leyara had felt against Malfurion, against both the Alliance and the Horde.  During the Horde invasion, her daughter Istaria was killed and her father-in-law Fandral was captured and held in prison.  It was through the power of the old god that Fandral has become a flame druid and broke free.  Where was the rest of the Alliance when Valstann was executed?  Where was the reinforcement when her little Istaria was slain?  Leyara joined Fandral in a heartbeat.  The rest is history.

Categories
For the Geeks

Online Gaming Is Good For You! (Alternate Title: Troll Dungeons Reloaded)

I cannot think of an activity that works my brain as hard as what computer gaming does to me on a near daily basis.  Don’t get me wrong.  There is nothing wrong with passive activities such as watching TV.  It is good to relax our minds after a long and tiring day of work.  I don’t know what you do for a living.  My job does not require me to make hundreds of decisions a day.  Nor does it require me to exhibit a reasonable level of eye-hand coordination in order to excel . I suppose I could play some team sports.  But if I can’t even get my band to jam regularly, I think team sports are out of the question.

When I play my online game, strings of invisible mathematics formula constantly flash across my head.  I find myself constantly reacting to the thousands of virtual dices rolled behind the scene; dice rolls that define the split second virtual events.  Decisions, decisions, decisions.  I have to pay attention to the timing governed by the game mechanism, be observant of the ever changing environment  I have to pay attention to the spatial movement, as well as the temporal shift.  If that is not demanding enough, I have to keep an eye on how my team members are doing, evaluating our collective performance via statistical reports, and modifying the group strategy based on every piece of information I can possess and process in real time.  During the climactic encounters, my heart would race like a F1 driver’s.  If we fail, our group would analyze the issue, identify the root cause, rectify the strategy, and try again.  If we succeed, we would scream in joy like the footballers who kick the ball into the goal post.  And shortly after, onto the next encounter we push forward.

I don’t have the statistics to support my claim.  But I strongly believe that computer gaming – and more so for online gaming – in moderation can exercise our brains in a positive way.  Making our mind sharper and more alert.  Some of you are keen to know if I have expanded on my previous Cataclysm boss encounter article with the WoW patch 4.1 updates.  Yes, I have!  The two heroic troll dungeons Zul’Aman and Zul’Gurub have been added into the quick reference guide.  Click here to read more.

If you are playing in the Asian evening timeslot and are keen to join us for the heroic runs, my in-game contact information can be found in here.  See you on the fiery side.

Categories
For the Geeks

So You Need A Cheat Sheet For WoW Cataclysm Heroic Dungeons?

How time flies!  Half a year has passed since the advent of Cataclysm.  In this fantasy universe, something has gone wrong in the core of the world.  Elementals emerge from within causing fire, flooding, earthquake, and lightning in a worldwide scale.  Coincidentally, in our real life, we face similar environmental threats at a global level.  While the earthquake in Japan still fresh in our mind, today, there is a quake in the southeast of Spain.  And we are heading to the south of Spain this weekend.  Maybe we would see Thrall there holding off a maelstrom.  Just like the story in the World of Warcraft.

We hope not.

After half a year of working through the contents in this new expansion, the few of us in the guild feel that we are ready to tackle the heroic dungeons.  Heroic dungeons are hard, that goes without saying.  In the previous expansion, Cynthia and I have tried to enter into a heroic dungeon unprepared, and we were asked to leave, nicely.  After that incident, we have grown to be a more responsible player.  And try not to waste people’s time.  This time round, we have come prepared.  Our guild members have geared up and I have volunteered to create a cheat sheet – or a quick reference guide – on the strategies involved.

To read more, click here.

Categories
Snippet of My Life

Snippet Of My Life Episode 30 – Love, Yusheng, Snail, and Bicycle

How did you spend your Valentine Day?  It was on a Monday, not an ideal day to celebrate.  So we celebrated ours on Sunday instead.  In case if you are curious on what we did on Monday, the picture below says it all.  Something is very wrong about this picture in so many dimensions, I know.  But it is what it is.

This Valentine, one of the gifts I bought for Cynthia got her jumping up and down in pure happiness.  It was a pleasant surprise, because I have not seen her so happily surprised at that euphoric magnitude.  It was something simple, did not take me long to find.  What took me a long time though was to think of what to get for her.  Perhaps it is true that it is the thought that counts.

*     *     *     *     *

No.  Despite the common belief that Yusheng or Lo Hei comes from Hong Kong, this dish is as uniquely Singapore as it can be.  I came from Hong Kong.  I have not eaten something like this before.  Certainly my family would flip if they see me standing, tossing food in mid air, inside a Chinese restaurant, during Chinese New Year.

Lo Hei is a cold dish with mixed vegetables.  I had my first encounter this year inside a posh Indian restaurant with a majority of Indian colleagues and business associates.  In view of the cultural difference, our Chinese hosts took the time to explain the steps in consuming this dish the Singapore way.  I do not remember all the steps in details.  All I remember was a full jar of oil emptied into the dish.  One of the Indian balked.  Me too.  I think the oil signifies a smooth and easy life.  Wow.  That was a lot of oil.

Lo Hei is an auspicious dish.  Tossing the dish with the ingredients high up in the air is part of the ritual.  The higher, the better.  In a business setting, I would presume that we do this in wish for a better career?  As I was happily tossing the dish, I suddenly recalled that my boss’ boss  and I were sharing the same dish, with a few others.  I was unsure if it was OK to toss higher than my boss.  So I quickly readjusted my enthusiasm and observed how high my boss’ boss tossed.  Am I going crazy?  Would you toss much higher than your bosses?

*     *     *     *     *

Ever since I shared this observation with Cynthia, she has stopped eating prawns.  You may skip this section if you are a prawn lover.

To me, prawns are underwater worms with a shell.  Once the shell is removed – raw or cooked – the naked prawn looks like a worm.  It is a lump of protein, which fortunately tastes pretty good – cooked or not.  I am fine with this imagination.  Cynthia is not.

Sea slugs are in essence snails without a shell.  But no one eats marine slugs or freshwater slugs inside a restaurant.  What we do have though is a land snail dish called escargot.  I love this French dish.

We eat land snails (selected species of course) but we don’t eat sea slugs.  We eat prawns but we don’t eat worms (except in some exotic cultures).  I conclude that we prefer eating things that come with a shell.

*     *     *     *     *

My friend R never stops trying to rally my emotion and call for my return to my ‘glorious day’ of being a cyclist.  My response to him is always the same.  I do not trust the drivers in Singapore.  I do not even feel safe hiding inside an encrusted metal when I am driving here.  What makes you think that I am willing to risk my life and share the road with fellow drivers, on a bicycle?  One of our mutual friends accidentally entered into a highway and got himself into an incident.  Another one got his shoulder dislocated on a hit-and-run incident.  Really.  Need I say more?  Fortunate for me, although I have only got to learn cycling when I was in my twenties, I have had the most smashing experience cycling across UK doing at times 120km a day.  After which, all I can say is that I can be happily ‘retired’, as far as cycling goes.

One day, I met R for lunch.  He showed me a badly cracked smartphone and asked, “Guess what happened?”  No idea.  You dropped the phone, I responded.

A few days ago, R was cycling in the middle of the leftmost lane.  Should cyclists stay on the far side of the road or should they occupy the entire road wide enough for buses and trucks?  I do not know which is less dangerous.  One car made a hard left turn from the  middle lane, cut into R’s lane, and they collided.  My friend seemed OK.  And he is claiming S$5,000 from the driver.  Because he has an expensive bicycle; he bicycle has some expensive gadgets; and he was carrying an expensive smartphone.

I do not know what level of damage his bicycle has endured.  But I learn to stay away from expensive bicycles after hearing R’s story.  This evening, at one junction, I saw a horde of expensive bicycles crawling towards me.  I patiently gave way.  If one was to cause a domino effect on them – however remote this could be – that would be one expensive bill to pay.  Not only for the bicycles, but also the attached speedometers.  Maybe GPS devices.  Not to forget to mention the smartphones that cyclists carry when they cycle.

Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

The Shattering: Prelude To Cataclysm By Christie Golden – Missing Lore Explained

Flawed as it may be, this book “The Shattering” in several occasions moved me literally to tears.  For better or for worse, Christie Golden may well be one of our finest.  She has the passion to the lore, connection to Blizzard developing team, and has the time and patience to write a book for the fans whom most do not even have the patience to read the few-liner in-game quest text.  I have read her previous book “Arthas, Rise of the Lich King“.  No way I am going to miss this one.  Because I am aspired to be a lore geek.

Unless you have been in the past few months religiously following the lore development at Warcraft’s website and reading through the monthly comic book series, you may feel disoriented from where the Warcraft universe was used to be, to where it is now.  Azeroth has been ripped apart, through the Cataclysm world event.  Weeks before December 7 last year, prior to the launch of Cataclysm, for those who had logged into game, you must have been awed by the change in landscape.  New faces have appeared in our capital cities forming the new line of leadership.  For most the questions you have, “The Shattering” may have the answer.

The story begins with the triumphant return of Garrosh Hellscream who has led the Horde expedition beyond the Dark Portal and Northrend.  A character who is soon to assume the position of acting Warchief.  For most of us who are not familiar with the lore – myself included – Garrosh Hellscream is a character we have little love for.  Especially if you have already read the episode between the reckless Garrosh and the honorable Cairne Bloodhoof, the late Chieftain of the tauren.  And his clashes with the legendary Horde Warchief, Thrall, too may not sit well with some of the lore lovers.  This book has changed my perception of him completely.  Hellscream represents a new generation of leadership, with a unique personality and trait.  To join this new era, there are Baine, son of Cairne, and the young human prince Anduin Wrynn.  Moira Thaurissan née Bronzebeard is also featured as the new dwarf queen.  Varian Wrynn, king of Stormwind, is back.  The ever charming human archmage Jaina Proudmoore – ruler of Theramore – with unknown years of age is still instrumental to the plot development.  Magic must have preserved her well.

The strength of Christie Golden is perhaps on the dramatic dialogs of honor and sacrifice.  I am happy to read how different each race converses.  However, I do not think the author is in particularly strong in the romance bits, nor the battle bits.  And I wish some parts of the story have more depth, and breath.  But such is the challenge of a lore writer, with perimeters drawn by the game designers.  Through “The Shattering”, readers should have a better appreciation on the differences in culture and political climate between the two factions – Horde and Alliance.  I still think that Cataclysm as a world event is bias towards the Horde.  And it is shown in this book too.  Some readers are disappointed that not even Deathwing – the Dragon Aspect that is responsible for this entire Cataclysm –  is mentioned.  No, you cannot find Deathwing in “The Shattering”.  Because this book is a prelude to the coming of Cataclysm.

“The Shattering” is more for the fans, than for general public consumption.  Having said that, I am curious to hear how someone with zero lore background would perceive this fantasy book.  Even for the fans, if you are lost, do not hesitate to consult WoWWiki.com.  It has everything you ever need to know, in the World of Warcraft.

This is an actual in-game image of tauren's capital city Thunder Bluff. This capital is heavily featured in "The Shattering".

This is an actual in-game image of tauren’s capital city Thunder Bluff. This capital is heavily featured in “The Shattering”.

Categories
For the Geeks

For The Love Of Singing Sunflower – Plants Vs. Zombies, The Warcraft Style

Cynthia finds it creepy.  But I happen to love the singing sunflower companion, quite possibly the best companion we see in World of Warcraft to date.  It sings random lines, musical notes flying up its head.  OK.  It is a little bit spooky.  That child like voice coming out of nowhere.  Randomly, it would sing, “La la la …” or better still, “There’s a zombie in your lawn.”  To obtain this pet, you have to complete a chain of quests (level 20+).  Fans of WoW would call this mini-game “Peacebloom vs. Ghouls”.  But really.  This mini-game draws inspiration from the popular PC game – “Plants vs. Zombies”.  I have not played PvZ.  And if you neither have, fear not.  Here is a near sure win strategy to share.

To get the quest, you should head to Hillsbrad Foothills.  To the east, south of Dalaran Crater, there is a farm.  Brazie the Botanist needs your help to defend his lawn against the zombies (or rather ghouls and various exotic undeads).  The first quest “Basic Botany” is a tutorial.  The zombies only appear in the middle row and you can plant the Spitter to take them down easily.  You need solar energy to plant flowers.  To collect solar energy, right click onto the shinning spheres.  The second quest is “Flower Power”.  You have access to Sunflower.  Sunflower increases the availability of solar energy and for this particular quest whereby zombies will only come in via the middle three rows, three to six Sunflowers should be good enough.  I like to use Freezya too.  It slows down the zombies.  The third quest “Ghouls Hate My Grains” poses some level of challenge.  You have access to Rocknut, which is the best defense you can have.  I prefer to place them on the third column from the right.  That gives me more space to place other types of plants.  I also enjoy using Strangler Vine.  Some players don’t like using it.  What Strangler Vine does is that it grabs a zombie and tosses it up in the air.  The zombie is immortalized up in midair.  And it is attacked by your plants from different rows.  The fourth quest “Someone Setup The Pumpkin Bomb” is likely the hardest of the quest chain.  The Pumpkin Bomb is useful to take down a large group of zombies, especially useful to weaken the strongest mobs.  To sustain its usage, you need two columns of Sunflower.  To make it effective, try not to throw away a bomb too early in the game.  The last quest is “Lawn of the Dead” – the ‘boss’ fight.  I personally think that this last bit is not as insane as the one before.

If you get stuck with this mini-game – I know Cynthia did – you may wish to try the following strategy.  Below is my priority list, applicable to part three to five of the quest chain.

  1. Plants three Sunflowers at the back of the lawn, before you do anything else.
  2. Plant a Rocknut on the row where the first zombie appears (and soon another one will appear).  This should buy you some time.
  3. Plant a Spitter on the row where the second zombie appears.
  4. Plant a Spitter on the row where the first zombie appears.  If your Rocknut breaks too soon, plant a Freezya to slow them down.
  5. Focus on planting two columns of Sunflowers, wherever you can.
  6. Plant a Rocknut whenever the cool down expires.  I place them on the third column from the right.  Replace the lost ones immediately.  A strong line of defense makes your game lasts.
  7. Drop a Pumpkin Bomb if situation calls for.
  8. Plant Strangle Vines behind a Rocknut if you can.  These are good front line offence.

Categories
Game Reviews

One Month Has Passed Since The Arrival Of Cataclysm …

Last year, our national paper sent in one of our finest journalists – who unfortunately a lapsed World of Warcraft (WoW) gamer – to preview the new expansion: Cataclysm.  It is like asking a recently turned vegetarian to critic on a world class steakhouse dish (and in defense of my humble analogy, it was not clear if that journalist is at all an avid online gamer).  That write-up was less than inspiring.  If you have not played WoW in your life or better still, have not experienced MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game), I envy you.  You are at the golden age of online gaming.  A game that works in both PC and MAC platforms, works in low end high end machines, has been fine tuned and revamped for 6 years, has more than 12 millions subscribers (as of last year), and on day one of this expansion’s launch, 3.3 millions of copies were sold, 4.7 millions copies were sold on the first month.  Now, I know some of you are still on the fence thinking, “Hmmm, should I dive into Cataclysm?”  Cynthia and I have spent a good amount of hours playing the new expansion during the first month of launch.  And we have this write-up to share with you (probably more credible than the one you have read in our papers).

Admit it.  No one wants to buy and play a game that is not addictive.  If you look back in your gaming career, great games are the ones that keep you thinking about them the whole day while you are not at it.  And when you are at it, you wouldn’t want to stop.  In view of this, I am often intrigued by comments like “I am not trying WoW because I may get hooked into it”.  Having said that, I am a responsible person.  If this game has destroyed you in the past and you have still yet to figure out how to moderate your gaming behavior, please continue to stay out of it.  If you are unable to handle the social aspect of the game and cannot handle the fact that while most people are good, some are not, this new expansion is not likely to change your view.  It is like this.  You can play basketball in your backyard all day long.  You can also play basketball in a public court with your mates.  Or even better, you can form a team with new friends and random players and play a proper game of basketball.  Is there a guarantee that you will not meet anyone who is going to piss you off big time?  I think not.  Bullies and morons are everywhere.  That is life.  You can hide from them and miss out all the roses out there.  Or you can ignore them and focus on the good things in life.  There is nothing wrong with playing your own basketball game alone at your backyard though.  It is not as epic.

In this write-up, I am going to touch onto a rather wide range of topics.  Although my main target audiences are the experienced players, where possible, I will write with the new players in mind.  Because this game is big, I will need a little disclaimer here.  By clicking onto the following link, you agree that in the event whereby you are sucked into this game under the influence of my wall of text, the writer (i.e. I) and the website provider are not responsible or liable to any past, present, and future tangible damages (such as hard disk going on fire due to prolonged hours of game play) and intangible damage caused (such as your girlfriend leaving you, your cat deserts you, and your plants and your fish die on you).

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